Among cogeneration apparatuses are those that accommodate a motor (gas engine), an electrical generator, a heat exchanger, and the like in a housing. According to such a cogeneration apparatus, the gas engine is used to drive the electrical generator and generate electrical power, the waste heat (exhaust heat) of the gas engine is used to generate hot water via a heat exchanger, and the heat of the water is used for air-warming applications or other purposes.
A well-known example of a cogeneration apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-13929 (JP-A 2007-13929), in which a fuel line, a water-supply line, a hot-water line, power wiring, and the like are led substantially vertically from a housing and positioned, e.g., along an outside wall of a house.
The fuel line supplies fuel gas from outside to a gas engine within the housing, and the water-supply line supplies water to a heat exchanger. The hot-water line leads hot water generated by the heat exchanger to the outside, and the power wiring supplies electrical power generated by an electrical generator to the outside.
The minimum bend radius for the lines and wiring that are led from the housing to the outside is fixed. Therefore, in order for the lines and the wiring, which are led substantially vertically from the housing to the outside, to be positioned, e.g., along an outside wall of a house, the cogeneration apparatus must be disposed fairly distantly from the outside wall of the house.